HUMAN
by Sketch
Summary: Tsuzuki drabble, pondering his existence. one shot


**HUMAN**

"Am I human?"

The gentle hands paused in the middle of their bandaging, their owner looking up from her task. The boy wasn't looking at her; instead, he gazed out the window, watching the afternoon traffic on the road outside of their home. The warm sunlight flitted across the table where they sat, the sound of horses and people going about their everyday lives filtering into the room through the open window. The hands came up to take the boy's face between them, and turned his attention back towards the room. A soft smile met him as he looked up into his sister's eyes.

"Of course you are, Tsuzuki." She could go on, telling him to ignore what the others in the village said to him. Tell him that they were just jealous because he was different, he was special, and they would never be as wonderful as him. That some day, they'd realize their mistake and ask him to forgive them for the horrible things they did to him whenever he got caught. But she didn't. She simply gave him a tender hug and then went back to cleaning his cuts.

He looked down at his bruised and torn limbs, remarking at how quickly he had already healed. The slice along his leg from where the stick had caught him was red and irritated, but clean and closed. She had seen to it that that one had been taken care of first, since it had been the one that bothered him the most. The remaining scratches hurt, but with the blood cleaned and gone, it didn't bother him so much anymore.

His hands were done, and she ran her long fingers through the downy strands of his hair. He looked up at her to see her smiling down at him, and he smiled back, leaning into the touch. She took one of his hands and stood, her scent and warmth washing over him as her kimono brushed against him.

"Let's get you into some clean clothes. Then, how would you like it if I made some dessert?" He beamed at her, bringing up his arms to hug her around the middle.

"Thank you, Ruka-nee-sama!" She laughed at his response and bundled him into her arms, causing him to shriek with laughter as she carried him upside down out of the room.

* * *

"Am I human?"

The purple eyed teenager kept his voice as even as possible, staring out over the banks of the river as his sister came to sit by his side. He didn't look at her, he didn't need to. He could tell by her shuffling steps, her shallow breathing and her dead tone that she was upset. If he looked over, he knew he'd see tears in her eyes.

The hug that attacked him from behind startled him, and the warm wetness that soaked into his shoulder from her tears were equally disconcerting. She sobbed again and again, tightening her grip on him.

"Yes, you're human! You are human, you are, you are..."

The visit from his father had been unexpected to say the least. To be more accurate, it had been terrible- the man was intimidating enough in broad daylight, and appearing in the middle of dinner out of the darkness was downright frightening. Ruka had been the perfect hostess, though, welcoming him to the table and offering the best they had. She'd not minded the fact that he remained silent throughout the night, nor when he disappeared again later that night. She'd been quite congenial and polite until he returned the following evening, and had stated that Tsuzuki was to leave with him the following day.

She'd begged with him, pleaded for him to reconsider, and to let her brother stay with him. Her stepfather listened, and not without pity- Tsuzuki had seen the sorrow in his father's eyes when his sister had begged for just a little more time together. The silent hunter had merely shaken his head, saying that he had neglected his duty to teach his son how to control his bloodline long enough, and that Tsuzuki had to learn how to control his abilities if he was ever to hope to live a normal life.

He didn't want to go.

He had challenged his father, told him he couldn't leave Ruka alone, told him that he would never use his powers anyway, told him that it was too late to rebuild the bond between father and son. The hunter had simply stared at him, then told him to be ready to leave in the morning. They'd return as soon as they could.

He turned and took her into his arms, allowing her to sit more comfortably in his lap and finish crying. He rested his chin on her head, and watched the fireflies dance and flicker over the slow moving water. He'd return, someday. He knew that he had to go with the hunter to at least learn control over his bloodline abilities, but he knew that he would return to her as soon as he could.

Because to her, he wasn't a demon, a monster or a quarter blood freak. He was Tsuzuki. He was her little brother. He was Human.

* * *

"Am I ... human?"

His father, after almost a year of attempting to train his son, had simply looked at him, then given him a slow nod.

"Yes. You... remind me of your mother. Like you, she did not have the heart to retaliate against those who hurt her. I was too much of a fool to realize that I was one of those people until it was too late. Tsuzuki, I..." at this, his father broke off, gazing down the length of his hunter's sword. The silence felt heavy, but Tsuzuki had long since gotten used to his father's moods. This one was vulnerable- probably the human side of him admitting a weakness.

"I loved her. I am glad that you take after her so strikingly. If I could do more... but I cannot. You are Human. What power you have is safely dormant enough that it should not trouble you. Return to your sister, and remember that you are Human, and that that is enough."

When he'd awoken the next morning, his father was gone.

* * *

"Human... am I...? Am I ... human?"

The doctor paused from taking his notes on his pet patient, looking over his clipboard to study the young man lying on the bed. His eyes were open- they always were- but from the glassy look to them, he could tell the boy was still gone to the world. It was unusual, though. Most of the time, whatever moans or murmurs the boy gave were incoherent and nonsensical. The only words they'd been able to understand so far were "my fault" and "Ruka".

Dr. Muraki flinched at that thought. The papers that had covered the explosion on th Asato's block called it a 'freak of nature' accident, as there had been no sign of what had caused it. The dark man that had brought him the Asato boy had given him the young man's name only, then left without another word. From the mutterings of the boy as he tossed and turned those first nights, the doctor had gotten an idea of what had happened that night.

She'd been on the brink of death when her brother had found her torn and violated body lying in a pool of her blood, her attackers glutting themselves on the food and drink she had in the house. They'd been surprised to see him when he came through the door, but he'd taken them by surprise. The boy believed that he was responsible for the destruction of the house and the brutality done to his sister, and had gone on and on about how he killed everyone who meant anything to him.

The doctor had thought Asato had gone completely mad, thinking himself capable of such a thing, but as the boy's cries died and the weeks stretched into weeks and his patient showed no signs of recovery and refused to take any food or drink, he began to have his doubts. If the boy could wallow so long without anything to sustain himself with, perhaps he had some other power hidden within? If only the boy would wake up!

Muraki looked back over to his patient, then dropped the clipboard in horror as he ran over to the body. Asato had sat up, and somehow had gotten a hold on a razor. His wrist was pulsing with blood that flowed down his arm and onto the white sheets, staining them crimson. His gaze remained vacant, though he seemed to be watching the drops as they broke contact with his skin. Muraki grabbed the razor as it was raised again to strike, and Tsuzuki turned to stare at him, blank, uncaring, unfocused. Muraki shouted for a nurse to come and help him as he pressed a towel onto the boy's wrist, trying to check for any other damage that might have been done while he wasn't looking. Asato merely stared at him, then laid back on the bed, looking out the window as though nothing had happened.

They cleaned him up, but the blood had stopped flowing long ago, and the doctor decided there was something wrong with his patient. Cuts healed almost instantly. No food or drink was needed to sustain him. The boy never spoke to anyone, just stared out the window, long into the night.

Muraki watched his patient as the boy continued to gaze off into nothingness, then muttered under his breath,

"I don't know what you are, but you're not human."

"You're a demon, not a human. Your mother bedded a monster, and you were the result. Look at you, your beautiful body, your eyes, your powers. Everything about you screams monster. You're nothing more than an abomination, a creature not fit to walk under the sun. You're too beautiful, too perfect to keep living. Why would you want to be human? Humans are so easily broken, Tsuzuki-san. But you, you... You are perfect in every way. Don't worry, it's better this way..."

Tsuzuki stared up at the ceiling, for all intents and purposes ignoring the goading doctor. He couldn't feel anything- there was simply flesh being violated and torn, blood being spilt, pain being inflicted and sweat dripping and mixing with other things before soaking into the sheet beneath him. But he didn't feel it. Well, he did- in some distant, far off way. But he didn't care anymore. Maybe that was the difference.

Before, Muraki scared the Hell out of him- he didn't want to be hurt, didn't want to be touched. He didn't want anyone to die, and yet everyone who got near him kept dropping like flies, thanks to him. He kept trying to tell himself that he was human, but things kept happening to him that contradicted that idea. When he was pushed too far, something snapped, and then he didn't care anymore.

Demons didn't care.

He continued to not feel anything, but briefly, distantly, wondered if Muraki was wrong.

He didn't think that demons could cry.

* * *

"Am I...?"

"Yes, Tsuzuki, you are."

A genuine smile crossed his lips, and he saw it being returned- if only minutely, since Hisoka liked to pretend he was emotionally dead. Hisoka, however, was not so apathetic that he wouldn't respond to an invitation like that, and Tsuzuki mentally cheered his good luck as Hisoka twisted a little to give him a kiss. Hisoka saw the grin and scowled at him. Tsuzuki continued to smile, however, seeing the slight blush on the boy's face.

"Sank yuu, Hisoka."

"Idiot."

-**_Owari_**-

_A little gem I found buried in the depths of my hard drive one night. :D This is a slight crossover fic, just because of Tsuzuki's father. I was watching YnM, and all of the sudden, I realized that the most likely anime guy to be his father and thus the source of all his power would be someone like D, from Vampire Hunter D. I know it would be a little difficult, chronologically, but I still like to think he is. Anyway, hope you all enjoy!_


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